Chapter 461: Bloody Station
Inside the station, Xu Huo and Dr. Deng appeared one after another in front of the platform screen. The moment they stood still, a thick, pungent smell of blood assaulted their nostrils. Immediately, a player beside them lunged at Dr. Deng, who hadn't even steadied himself yet!
Xu Huo took two quick steps to Dr. Deng's side, lifted him, and set him aside, then met the charging player head-on.
Their eyes locked. The bare-armed, tattooed man abruptly halted two meters away from Xu Huo, then stumbled backward several steps.
Xu Huo stood his ground where Dr. Deng had been, expressionless as he stared at the man.
There were several others in the station. Three of them were likely companions of the bare-armed man, all assuming offensive stances simultaneously. The other two kept their distance from both groups, their attention also fixed on this side.
It was clear that the four-man group, including the bare-armed man, had committed the murders—they made no effort to hide it. Their clothes, pants, and shoes were covered in fresh blood. Two of them had blood on their lips and teeth, still chewing as they turned toward Xu Huo.
Four fresh but mutilated corpses lay in the station, blood and organs spilled across the floor—a gruesome scene.
"Ugh!" Dr. Deng couldn't control his physiological reaction and bent over to vomit. Only then did the bare-armed man finally look away from Xu Huo, though he didn't relax his body, retreating step by step back to his companions.
The four exchanged glances and stopped fixating on Xu Huo and his companion.
At this point, Xu Huo also stopped staring at them. He grabbed Dr. Deng's arm and led him to a corner of the station, handing him a bottle of water.
Dr. Deng finished vomiting, rinsed his mouth, and said, "Sorry you had to see that."
Xu Huo didn't reply. Instead, he leaned against the transparent glass wall to rest, taking the opportunity to check his game panel.
In the Deep Blue Laboratory, he had killed Mao Wei, Ge Pan, Wu Xiaonan, the Black Shirt player, Kong Hui, and Tong Jian. Aside from their White Notes and potions, the item rewards were also substantial.
Mao Wei's more practical items included "Counting Grids," which could trap players in place; "Friendly Handkerchief," which located others by asking if they needed help; and "Vital Kite String," which could pierce through a player's body.
Ge Pan, aside from the single-use projector that could reverse time—which he had used himself—also had a pocket-sized trumpet called "Director's Authority," which could cause temporary amnesia without the target noticing. This item hadn't been useful against the Kong siblings.
Additionally, there was a "Blank Script." Its usage was simple: just take out the script, and as long as it remained on the holder's person, anyone who heard the holder speak within one minute would focus and develop a sense of trust toward them.
The remaining valuable item was an attack item, "Burden-Free Wrap-Up," a half-palm glove that could inflict wounds on others from several meters away, though the wound length didn't exceed half a finger.
Wu Xiaonan's strength lay in her trait. Among her items, only one caught Xu Huo's interest: the "Passive Rest" badge. In situations with many enemies and allies, it could make opponents unconsciously ignore the wearer once. Paired with his trait, it might work wonders in chaotic battles.
The Black Shirt player specialized in swamps. One of his items was particularly interesting: "Chair Facing Up." No matter what height this item fell from or where it landed, it would maintain an upright posture during the descent and wouldn't be affected by impact force upon landing. In other words, as long as you sat in the chair, you could jump out of a plane and land safely.
Kong Hui's items were mostly close-combat weapons, along with a few confusion items that caused visual misalignment, such as the "No-Target Confetti Cannon," a spotlight that "illuminated non-important locations," and the "Two-Part Magic" button that had made Xu Huo feel like his body was split in half during the fight.
His defense items had been blown to pieces and were unusable.
Finally, there was Tong Jian, who specialized in glue. His glue suit was a decent defense item, but it didn't work well with water. His other items were mostly tied to his trait and weren't suitable for Xu Huo.
However, two B-grade items had appeared in his item slot.
[Absolute Safe Distance: During use, establishes a one-finger-thick safe barrier around the player's entire body. Theoretically, it can block all special attacks like water, fire, and poison gas, but it is useless against blades and guns. Duration: three minutes.]
[Mobile Metal: Can defend against all physical attacks without requiring the player to wear it. It possesses an exceptional work ethic, autonomously detecting areas about to be harmed and actively providing protection.]
Xu Huo's gaze sharpened. Of these two items, the former was likely Kong Cheng's. He had used it underwater, where it looked like a transparent bubble outlining the human body.
The latter was probably Tong Jian's. When he tried to block the sword with his hand, he had likely intended to use this item, but he hadn't succeeded in activating it.
The items that should have belonged to Miao Yu and the item Tong Jian had tried but failed to use were now in his possession. Without a doubt, they had been stolen by the "Hungry Greedy Snake." These two items perfectly filled the gaps in his defense.
This trip to the Deep Blue Laboratory had yielded far more than he had imagined. Not only had he acquired so many practical items at once, but he had also obtained the S-grade Evolution Potion and gathered some information about Dr. Wu. It surpassed any previous instance he had undertaken.
Xu Huo flexed his fingers and relaxed his brows slightly, scanning the players in the station. *Just my luck after leaving the instance—it's a bit bad.*
"They're all cannibal players," Dr. Deng said, as skittish as a startled bird, not daring to look at the bare-armed man's group. Whenever he sensed them looking his way, he couldn't help but shrink back.
Xu Huo was in a decent mood and patted his shoulder. "Once we're on the train, it'll be fine."
Dr. Deng forced a smile uglier than crying. "Even lies can't comfort me."
"Then just endure it," Xu Huo said, offering no further comfort. Encountering cannibal players on the train was normal, but entering a D-grade instance meant they no longer held a clear advantage.
The train soon arrived, and they were teleported into the station. Glancing briefly at the situation inside and outside the carriage, Xu Huo's expression darkened: *This luck isn't just a little bad—it's terrible.*
The carriage had clearly already undergone a bloody massacre. Blood and severed limbs were everywhere. The players sitting inside looked relatively clean, but the doors to the front and rear carriages were sealed shut. Only this one was open, making it obvious they had entered the most dangerous carriage.
Moreover, the cannibal players from the station had also boarded this carriage.
A dozen pairs of eyes pressed in on Xu Huo and Dr. Deng, who stood in the middle.
After assessing the situation, Xu Huo took out a bottle of cleaning agent, cleared a nearby seat, and gestured for Dr. Deng to sit and rest.
Dr. Deng's butt felt like it was on fire. He barely touched the seat before jumping up, grabbing Xu Huo's arm without any dignity. "Let's go to another carriage!"